Racial Politics in an Online Community

Abstract

The following essay explores the racial politics within an online community focused on the city of Detroit. Past research has demonstrated that the intertextual strategies utilized by the DetroitYES! community have built an alternative cityscape that changes the way people interact with the physical environment. In our research we engaged in a qualitative content analysis of different threads on the discussion forum, and we interviewed members of the community to illustrate racial politics in this virtual site. Our research illustrated administrative strategies utilized within the community that closed down discourse about race. On the surface, these appeared to be authoritarian strategies that maintained White privilege. However, further research and analysis demonstrated how these strategies gave rise to the possibilities for narrative appropriation and building bridges by minority communities.